Insurance

Root Insurance Offers Lyft Credits

Root Insurance has announced rental coverage in partnership with Lyft.

For policyholders with short-term needs for alternate transportation after an incident, Root will now offer the choice between a rental car and a comparable amount of Lyft credits for free rides.

Root’s new rental coverage offering follows the success of its “Lyft on Us” perk, which gave policyholders free Lyft credits on the most dangerous driving days of the year.

“The claims experience is notoriously bad,” said Alex Timm, co-founder and CEO of Root. “You’ve just gotten into an accident and now you have a mountain of paperwork, agents with questions, and the added bonus of no car. We’re rebuilding the claims experience from the ground up, starting with rental coverage. Through our partnership with Lyft, we’re making sure we don’t add to the stress of an already bad day.”

With the option of Lyft, Root policyholders can now choose to forgo the rental car process and instead have Lyft credits added to their account to use over the period of the repair. The program, which Lyft is also piloting with two carriers in California, has resulted in higher satisfaction ratings for the claims experience overall, according to the company.

“We’re excited to partner with Root, a new mobile-first insurance company with high growth potential,” said Kevin Dulsky, who runs strategic partnerships at Lyft. “We’re always looking for new ways to innovate within existing industries, and insurance is definitely a place we can make a huge impact.”

Under the Lyft program, customers who have a short-term need (a week or less) will have the option to choose a rental car or select Lyft credits worth a comparable amount. Policyholders can make the decision each time they file a claim.

Vehicles equipped with advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) can add on average an extra $3,000 to the repair bill after a crash due to pricey sensors and their calibration requirements, according to new research from AAA.